According to Firearm Chronicles
Jackson, Mississippi Mayor Chokwe Lumumba is still facing a federal lawsuit over his attempt to ban the open carrying of firearms in the city during the coronavirus-related state of emergency, and the mayor told a local TV station over the weekend that he believes the lawsuit will soon be resolved without “any financial burden to the city.” According to WLBT, Lumumba still claims that the ban, which was rejected by the Jackson City Council, the Mississippi Attorney General, the local U.S. Attorney, and several lawmakers, wasn’t aimed at legal gun owners, but was instead meant to give law enforcement a tool to crack down on violent criminals.
Mayor Lumumba said, “day after day I’m getting calls from residents talking about people shooting guns up in the air in their neighborhoods. People hearing gunshots continuously.” Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba says he is a proud gun owner and his ban on the open carry law during a civil emergency was never about law abiding gun owners.
Mayor Lumumba said, “since 2013 when many of the open carry laws were introduced, childhood deaths by firearm increased by 72% in the South. And so we need to dive into that and we need to care enough to figure out why that is happening and make the changes.” Jackson police were able to confiscate dozens of illegal weapons in the last few weeks. Many of them in the possession of convicted felons.